Main content

Germaine Greer

Germaine Greer joins Jenni Murray for a special programme about women and the land. She talks about her passion for restoring a small patch of rainforest in south-east Queensland.

Germaine Greer in a special programme about women and the land. She'll talk about her passion for restoring a small patch of rainforest in south-east Queensland, Australia. We'll also discuss women farmers, enviromentalists and gardeners with Professor Melissa Leach and Alys Fowler.

Presented by Jenni Murray
Produced by Rebecca Myatt.

Available now

58 minutes

Chapters

  • Germaine Greer: White Beech The Rainforest Years

    Germaine Greer talks about the abandoned farmland she bought to restore its ecosystem.

    Duration: 14:44

  • Ecofeminism and Women in the Environmental debate

    Jenni talks to Professor Melissa Leach about what women have done to protect the land.

    Duration: 09:30

  • Gardening and conserving biodiversity

    Gardener Alys Fowler talks to Jenni about gardening to encourage biodiversity.

    Duration: 13:32

  • Germaine Greer's archive

    Germaine Greer talks about selling her entire archive to the University of Melbourne.

    Duration: 04:47

Germaine Greer - White Beech: The Rainforest Years

In 2002, Germaine Greer boughtΒ  60 hectares of abandoned dairy farmland The site had previously been used for harvesting bananas and timber production, but one patch remained close to traditional rainforest. Β Germaine Greer’s vision was to restore the land, its plants and animals, and bring the rainforest back to life. Β In her new book, β€œWhite Beech,” she tells the story of her extensive search for the right plot, her meticulous research into its history and her attempt to rejuvenate a magnificent ecosystem.

White Beech: The Rainforest Years is publishedΒ on 30thΒ JanuaryΒ by Bloomsbury.

Ecofeminism and key women in the environmental debate

Discovering how powerful synthetic insecticides such as DDT could poison the food chain; identifying chemicals that killΒ birds; fighting soil erosion; persuading women to use cotton nappies; hugging trees to stop them being chopped down. Β How haveΒ women like , and Wangari MaathaiΒ contributed to the international environmental debate? Jenni talks to Professor Melissa Leach, Professor of Anthropology at Sussex University about what women have done to protect the land and why they have taken action. Are women inherently closer to nature? And who is really in control, when it comes to protecting our land?Β 

Gardening and conserving biodiversity

talks to Jenni about the rights and wrongs of gardening to encourage biodiversity.

Germaine Greer's archive

Germaine Greer has sold her entire archive to the University of Melbourne where she studied more than 50-years ago.Β It includes notes for her books like The Female Eunuch, her diaries and correspondence with politicians, intellectuals and friends.Β  It will fill more than 150 filing cabinets.Β  Germaine talks to Jenni about letting go of a lifetime’s work and some of the more surprising content.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jenni Murray
Interviewed Guest Germaine Greer
Interviewed Guest Melissa Leach
Interviewed Guest Alys Fowler
Producer Rebecca Myatt

Broadcast

  • Thu 30 Jan 2014 10:00

Follow us on Instagram

Get all the pictures, videos, behind the scenes and more from Woman’s Hour

Podcast